So, with all that being said, how should we begin 2016? Well, with an award winning brewery, creating some of the most unique and interesting beers in the world, of course. Beerthirst are proud to welcome Propolis Brewing to our ‘Rare Beer Program’ Tweet This

“Propolis is making extremely small batch high end herbal seasonal ales, many that fall into the farmhouse beer style that the consumers are craving regularly.” Jason Lehr, Beerthirst Territory Manger.

Port Townsend’s, Propolis Brewing is teaming up with us to distribute their multi awarding ales in British Columbia. The new expansion will bring Propolis’ unique, hand-crafted seasonal herbal ales to specialty liquor stores throughout British Columbia in late January – early February, 2016. The introduction will give British Columbian craft beer drinkers access to award winning Propolis ales such as Beltane Golden Elderflower Saison Brett and Spruce Golden Saison.

“Propolis was established in June of 2012 with the sole intent to produce high-quality handcrafted herbal ales inspired by old world tradition, local resources and the rhythms of nature. Our ales are brewed with various wild-crafted herbs and are seasonally based. Many of our Ales blend several styles and are hard to classify by those that prescribe to the standards. We are primarily inspired by the farmhouse tradition of France and Belgium, as well as old world Ales that no longer exist. We are artists and scientists at heart and we aspire to challenge the norm.

For thousands of years beer served as food and medicine; it had anti-septic, anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties. Old world ales were referred to as “gruits” and were created from various malted grains and bittering herbs. Proprietary herbal blends were passed down from generation to generation as was the knowledge of how each herb served to promote health throughout the year. We carefully selected local herbs and botanicals that bitter and flavor our ales. Our herbal blends are developed to harmonize with the spectrum of malt that shifts from light to dark with the sun and the harvest.

The term “propolis” comes from two Greek words: “pro,” which means “before,” and “polis,” which means “city.” This ancient term came into being centuries ago when some early Greek student of Nature established the fact that honeybees use propolis to narrow the opening into their “cities,” or hives, to keep out unwelcome intruders. Propolis is a sticky resin that seeps from the buds of some trees and oozes from the bark of other trees, chiefly conifers. The bees gather propolis, sometimes called bee glue, and carry it home in their pollen baskets. They blend it with wax flakes secreted from special glands on their abdomens. The term “Propolis” is a metaphor…a reference to a time long past. Propolis encourages us to look to our surroundings for inspiration and health.

Propolis Ales are brewed using 100% Certified Organic Pacific Northwest Malted Barley and Wheat, as well as Organically sourced spelt, oats and rye. We utilize locally grown organic herbs, or we wild-craft herbs from the forest and the fields that adorn Port Townsend. We craft every ale in small batches, bottling, corking, capping, labeling and waxing by hand. Many of our ales are brewed in batches under 20 cases with each vintage unique to the “Flavors of the Season”.” Propolisbrewing.com

Jason Lehr, Beerthirst Territory Manager/Rare Beer Director adds “having the bottles both wax dipped and corked shows that they care about how the liquid is cared for after leaving the brewery. They are one of a few breweries that prides themselves on `beer care’, how to store the bottles, for how long and how to pour the beer. Furthermore, an array of food pairings are outlined, detailed tasting notes are provided, along with a very in depth tasting note chart on every bottle, which provides an array of info for the consumer.” If you want to learn more about how to care for, cellar and serve your Propolis beer check out our handy info package here “An Introduction To Propolis Brewing”.